Kolkata to Vizag - Best Route For Road Trip, Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Rou

Best Route For Road Trip, Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route from 

Kolkata to Vizag 

(Kolkata_Vizag), 

Kolkata to Visakhapatnam 

(Kolkata_Visakhapatnam), 

Kharagpur to Vizag 

(Kharagpur_Vizag), 

Jaleswar to Vizag 

(Jaleswar_Vizag), 

Balasore to Vizag 

(Balasore_Vizag): 

Kolkata (Victoria Memorial) ---- Vidyasagar Setu (over Hooghly River) / Second Hooghly River Bridge ----- Vidyasagar Setu Toll Plaza ---- Drive on Kona Expressway via Santragachi ---- Kona Expressway crossing (End of NH117. Intersection of NH16 and NH117. Turn left. Keep driving on NH16 upto Chennai)  ---- Dhulagarh Toll Plaza ---- Ranihati ---- Uluberia ---- Bagnan ---- Rupnarayan River Bridge ---- Kolaghat (ROL: Tamluk, Haldia 55 kms, Contai, Digha) ---- Panskura ---- Debra Toll Plaza ---- Balihati ---- Kharagpur bypass (Continue driving on NH16) ---- Belda ---- Dantan --- Sonakania ---- WB-OD border (Gabarghata) ---- Laxmannath Toll Plaza (OD) ---- Jaleswar (OD) ---- Subarnarekha River Bridge ---- Rupsa ---- Fuladi Chowk, Balasore (ROR: Baripada) ---- Balasore (Remuna) (OD) ---- Sergarh Toll Plaza ---- IOCL Adirupa Filling Station, Bahanaga on left ---- Soro ---- Bahanaga ---- Bhadrak ---- Panikoili (ROR: Keonjhar) ---- Chandikhole ---- Manguli Toll Plaza ---- Manguli (ROR: Chowduar, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur) ---- Mahanadi River Bridge ---- Cuttack ---- Gopalpur ---- Pahal ---- Bhubaneswar ---- Khandagiri PS on left of NH16 ---- Khurda ---- Rameswar (ROL: Puri) ---- Tangi bypass ---- Balugaon (ISKCON, Chilka Lake on left) ---- Barkul (OTDC Panthaniwas on left) ---- Swosti Chilka Resort, Barkul on left ---- Gurapalli Toll Plaza ---- Chilka Lake View Point from hilltop ---- Rambha (OTDC Panthaniwas on left) ---- HPCL Srinivas Filling Station, Rambha on left ---- Palur ---- Ganjam ---- Rusikulya River bridge ---- Chatrapur ---- Brahmapur (Flyover at Gopalpur Sea Beach intersection. ROL: Gopalpur Sea Beach 10 kms) ---- Girsola (OD) ---- OD-AP border ---- Ichchapuram (AP) ---- Belupada Toll Plaza ---- Sompeta ---- ROL: Baruva Beach 5 kms ---- Korlam ---- Haripuram ---- Palasa ---- Tekkali ---- Narasannapeta ---- Srikakulam bypass (EENADU office on left of NH16) ---- Nagavali River bridge ---- Etcherla ---- Bhogapuram ---- Vizag (YSR Cricket Stadium on right of NH16) ---- Vizag (Andhra University crossing) ---- Vizag (Aganampudi Toll Plaza/ Greater Vizag Toll Plaza) 

Distances (from Kolkata): 

Kolkata (Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza) to 
Kharagpur = 109 kms 
Balasore (Birla Tyres) = 234 kms 
Bhadrak (Hotel Orion) = 300 kms 
Chandikhole = 361 kms 
Manguli toll plaza = 386 kms 
Cuttack (Badambadi crossing) = 399 kms 
Bhubaneswar Bypass for road to Puri, Konark = 409 kms 
Bhubaneswar (Vani Vihar, Utkal Univ) = 420 kms 
Bhubaneswar Bypass (Rameshwar Chhak) for road to Nirakarpur, Puri = 468 kms 
Barkul (OTDC Panthnivas) = 519 kms 
Chilka (view from ghat) = 533 kms 
Rambha (OTDC Panthnivas) = 540 kms 
Brahmapur & Gopalpur on Sea crossing = 582 kms 
Roland Institute of Technology, Brahmapur = 600 kms 
Ballupada toll plaza = 610 kms 
Baruva Beach crossing = 637 kms 
Haripuram = 639 kms 
Palasa = 656 kms 
Laxmipuram toll plaza = 665 kms 
Tekali = 685 kms 
Madapam toll plaza = 723 kms 
Srikakulam (Eenadu) = 732 kms 
Chkpalem toll plaza = 750 kms 
Nathavalasa toll plaza = 789 kms 
Vizag/ Visakhapatnam (Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium) = 825 kms 
Vizag (Srinivas Plaza, MVP Colony crossing) = 834 kms 
Vizag (Vizag Steel Plant gate) = 856 kms 
Vizag (Aganampudi toll plaza) = 859 kms 

Note: These are user generated best routes. 

Abbreviations used: 

RA = Road Ahead.
ROR = Road on Right.
ROL = Road on Left.
NH = National Highway.
SH = State Highway.
NE = National Expressway.  

P.S: 

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Walayar (TN-KL border) to Thrissur via Palakkad, Kulappully Junction - Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route, best route for road trip

Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route, best route for road trip from 

Walayar (TN-KL state border) - Palakkad - Kulappully Junction - Thrissur (Kolazhy) - Paliyekkara Toll Plaza 

Distance: 

121 kms. 

Drive to Bangriposi from Kolkata and back in February 2016

Indian Roadie fan/ member, Neeraj Pandey got back from a 841 kms road trip with family from Kolkata to Bangriposi and back in early February 2016.

Route taken during onward journey was Kolkata - Dhulagarh Toll Plaza - Uluberia - Kolaghat - Kharagpur (Exit NH16) - Lodhasuli (ROR: Jhargram) - Baharagora - Jamsola - Jharpokharia - Bangriposi (distance 242 kms).
5 kms between Baharagora to Jamsola had craters within craters.
Time taken to negotiate this stretch was 1 hour. The Ritz managed fairly well with no underbelly scrapes.

Khairi Resort is a big no no. They gave him a room on the first floor. The room was dirty with a strong smell of pee from the loo. He left immediately and checked in to Hotel Bangriposi.
First look at Hotel Bangriposi and there was this thought "Lets go to Ramtirath and stay at Toshali". Incidentally, a couple of years ago, Neeraj had done a JV with the Forest Dept and Toshali Group, 60 kms from Bangriposi going towards Keonjhar at a crocodile breeding centre called Ramtirath.

Hotel Bangriposi was a small building with dirty rooms and absolutely unimpressive. Its only when he went behind that he came across a nice cottage. It was basic but neat, clean and had a good sit out. Neeraj, in any case he carries his own sheets, towels, etc. He decided on staying in the cottage for the entire duration of the trip.
The cottage was kind of a village initiative and it was pretty nice to see children and chickens playing about. The cottage did not have brick walls except for the toilet. The entire structure was straw mats held together with bamboo. There was no AC and summer months will obviously be very hot.

He got woken up in the morning with cock crows and chirping birds. Food was fixed. The menu comprised of a simple chicken dish and rotis for two which cost Rs 300 and breakfast with 2 omelettes and puri and aloo was for Rs 200.
It's a very relaxed place and recommended. However, do remember they have only one cottage.

Return route was Bangriposi - Baripada (36 kms) - Duel - Gopinathpur - Gopiballabhpur - Pheko Ghat (105 Kms) - Jhargram - Kharagpur - Kolkata (Total distance 322 kms).

Neeraj reported that the drive through the countryside of Odisha and West Bengal was pretty interesting. Except one bad stretch of about 1 km, which was nothing compared to Jamsola, it was generally good roads, sometimes quite narrow with no traffic.
This road met NH6 at Pheko Ghat.

During his stay in Bangriposi, Neeraj took two trips Bisoi and back (60kms), one to Ramtirath and back (120 kms) and one on the evening of 12th February 2016 to Baripada and back (72 kms) to see the palace and buy tissue paper.

Hotel Neelkant just after one crosses Kharagpur and before Great India Hotel has good food and extremely clean loos.

Morni Hills - Weekend monsoon destination from Delhi

Morni Hills:

Morni is a small town located in Panchkula district of Haryana. It is a great weekend gataeway for residents of Chandigarh and Delhi.
Morni Hills are situated at about 45 kilometers from Chandigarh city. The best way to reach Morni Hills is by road which takes around an hour.
Just 275 km away from Delhi, this hill station offers various landscapes, scenic hills, and waterfalls.
Situated on the outskirts of Panchkula, Morni Hills is a great place for bird watching and trekking enthusiasts. Popular birds which are sighted here include Wallcreeper, Crested Kingfisher, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Blue Peafowl, Kalij Pheasant, Red Junglefowl, Grey Francolin, Quails, Himalayan Bulbul and Oriental Turtle Dove.
It has a great coverage of flora and a lot of wild animals can also be seen here. The animals that make this their home include jackals, Langurs, Hare, Hyenas, Neelgai, Wild Boars, Barking Deer, Sambar and even Leopards. There are three man-made lakes in this region as well.

The place is named after Queen Mori who ones ruled this place.

Rainfall forecast in West Bengal between 23rd - 25th July 2017

Heavy to very heavy rainfall in West Bengal between 23rd - 25th July 2017

Kateryna Cherepanova at Fotula Top, the highest point on Srinagar - Leh route in 2017

Kateryna Cherepanova at Fotula Top (13479 feet) on her silver coloured Royal Enfield Bullet Thunderbird 350 in June 2017 during her road trip to Ladakh.
Fotula Top is the highest point in Srinagar – Leh route.

The route from Srinagar to Leh via Fotula Top is as follows:
Srinagar - Sonamarg - Baltal - Zojila Pass - Dras - Kargil - Fotula Top - Lamayuru - Alchi - Leh.

Ukhimath, Uttarakhand should be on your drive bucket-list

Ukhimath (also written Okhimath) is a small town and a Hindu pilgrimage site in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, India. It is situated at an elevation of 1311 meters and at a distance of 41 km from Rudraprayag.

During the winters, the idols from Kedarnath temple, and Madhyamaheshwar are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped here for six months.

With Ukhimath as the centre, nearby places to visit are:
Madhmaheshwar (Second kedar), 
Tungnath (Third kedar),  
Deoria Tal (a natural fresh water lake)
and many other picturesque places.

According to Hindu mythology, Wedding of Usha (Daughter of Vanasur) and Anirudh (Grandson of Lord Krishna) was solemnized here. By virtue of the name of Usha this place was named as Ushamath, now known as Ukhimath. 

It is believed that King Mandhata penances Lord Shiva here. During winter the Utsav Doli of Lord Kedarnath is brought from Kedarnath to Ukhimath. Winter puja of Lord Kedarnath and year-round puja of Lord Omkareshwar is also performed in Ukhimath.

Walayar checkpost in Palakkad district empty after introduction of GST on 01/07/2017

Truck traffic through Walayar check-post was normal but there were no queues on 1st July 2017.

Goods vehicles coming from different parts of the country that entered the inter-state Walayar checkpost of Palakkad district in Tamilnadu - Kerala border after the introduction of GST on Friday (01/07/2017) mid-night were cleared in a few minutes. The drivers did not even have to bother getting down from their vehicles as they were allowed to pass through by showing the declaration documents they were carrying.

It was Khadar Babu who transited through the check post first on Friday midnight with cement from Andhra Pradesh. The commercial taxes department officials led by deputy commissioner K Suresh welcomed the first few vehicles that entered the check-post after the introduction of GST.

After showing the declaration documents the first vehicle was allowed to pass through the check post within a couple of minutes. Driver Khadar Babu was surprised at the speedy clearance and asked the officials whether there is no token system now.
The deputy commissioner replied in the negative. Passage through Walayar check post was considered a 'nightmare' by truck drivers.

In the first one hour, 120 vehicles passed through the check post. The counters were replaced by squads who made random checks.

The vehicles checked by excise and motor vehicles departments were cleared by commercial taxes department officials within two to three minutes, said an official. In the first six hours after the introduction of GST, from 12 midnight to 6 am, 448 vehicles passed through Walayar and from 6 am to 2 pm, another 350 vehicles were cleared. Every day around 750 to 900 goods vehicles passes through Walayar. The official said that the 140 officials working in the commercial taxes department at Walayar will be redeployed and 25 squads will be formed for the district.

Status of Manali - Leh highway in first week of July 2017 narrated by biker Swaroop Konambi

Swaroop Konambi reached Leh from Manali  on 2017-07-04 afternoon on his bike with a pillion rider.

The status of Manali - Leh highway as reported by him is as follows ...

Manali to Rohtang: Nice road.

Rohtang to Grampu: 5 kms of road is pure hell.  If you are riding/ driving on this road, pray for no rain. If it rains, the stretch would be worse than hell.

Grampu to Kaza: Offroading to it's peak. I could cover approx 10 km per hr with pillion and luggage. All streams are in full flow.

Grampu to Khokser: Small stretch of bad road.

Khokser to Darcha: Road is ok until a little beyond Darcha.

Zing Zing Bar is clear for travel, but BRO is still working.

Road to Barlacha la is good.

Very bad road starts when one starts decending from Barlacha la and remains very bad till Pang road intersection.

Pang to Leh: Road is super fine.

(Source & Content credit: Swaroop Konambi, a member of Ladakh Return group on Facebook)

Maruti Ciaz splits into two after a high speed crash near Madurai on 2017-07-03

Maruti Ciaz splits into two after crashing into a tree during test drive. The accident happened near Madurai, Tamil Nadu on 2017-07-03.

The vehicle in question was a demo car said to be on a routine test drive on the two lane Alangulam road.

According to eyewitnesses, the Ciaz was being pushed to test the top speed. It went out of control at high-speed and hit a tree on the side of the road. The speed at the time of the accident is said to be around 170 km/h. The impact was such that the Ciaz split into two parts.

The potential customer who was test driving the vehicle is said to be inexperienced. The driver along with two more associates passed away on the spot. The sales manager of Nexa, who was sitting in the rear seat is in a critical condition, and is admitted to the hospital.

It is not clear if the driver was trying to avoid some obstacle or any other vehicle on the road when the accident happened.

Self-drive and glamorous camping (glamping) vacations on the growth path in India

(Source: The Telegraph T2 dated 2017-06-10)

Kolkata Traffic Police praised by a Delhi resident on 2017-07-02

I am now a total admirer of the way traffic cops do what they have to do in Kolkata vs the way it is done in, say, Delhi or Mumbai.

# I did not hear a single pressure horn in Kolkata whilst I was there, and I was all over the place by cab, bus, tram, local train and ferry. City, port, railway station, airport, and suburbs.
# I did not see a single traffic cop sitting on a chair or charpoy in Kolkata.
# At many bus-stops and pedestrian crossings I spotted traffic cops helping bus passengers and pedestrians.
# The Kolkata traffic cops are in full white and despite everything they were gleaming like in a Rin ad.
# The automated speed traps with nil human interaction are brilliant though the public sector bus drivers appear to be above the law.
# The traffic cop bikes are spotless with full gear and the riders are properly clad.
# Those riding breeches aka gum boots must be hell in the humidity but they symbolise authority.
# The traffic cops there give priority to buses at railway stations and at the airport.

Here in Delhi, just back from the airport again, where 4 of our finest are sitting on chairs, summoning drivers to show their PUC Certificates.

(Content courtesy: Veeresh Malik expressed his own take about Kolkata Police on his own Facebook wall on 2/7/2017)

Yellow taxis in Kolkata in West Bengal, India are a receeding phenomenon as in mid-2017

Receeding phenomenon!
In another 4 - 5 years, the ubiquitous gaudy yellow Ambassador taxis could be an absolutely rare sight in #Kolkata in #WestBengal, #India.
During my growing up years it was only the Black body and Yellow top Ambassador taxis manufactured by Hindustan Motors that ruled the thoroughfares of Kolkata.
For some odd policies of the erstwhile Communist Government that ruled the state from 1977 to 2011, the colours of all taxis in Kolkata were changed to a gaudy Yellow in the early 2000s.
In May 2011 with the change of government in West Bengal, it became mandatory for all taxis to sport horizontal blue lines on both sides.
It's widely known that the lady head of the present government since 2011 has a peculiar fetish for blue and white. As in 2017, all new general taxis in Kolkata are sporting the white and blue colour.
Moreover, it's already over 2 years that the production of Ambassador cars have stopped because the company has downed shutters.

Photo credit: @kbeer89 on IG.

Cafe 1947 in Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Cafe 1947 in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India is one of the best hangout joints with buddies.
The restaurant mainly serves Italian cuisine.
Address: Old Manali - 175131.